Ahmed Al-Jarallah – Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

IT seems the British columnist David Hirst’s stay in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, has affected his vision of facts and reality because he has started using the same random method that some Arabs use to mislead the public.

After writing a series of fierce analyses concerning a number of Arab countries, he wore the turban of Hassan El-Banna, the ‘founder of Muslim Brotherhood Group’ and wrote an essay filled with lies about Egypt similar to the lies published by the media of Muslim Brotherhood Group against Egypt with the aim of misleading the public and distorting the country’s image.

It appears that this man did not read about the economic, political and security achievements of Egypt especially after Field Marshal Abdul Fattah el-Sisi was elected as the Egyptian President.

He deliberately shut his eyes to the intimacy of the historical relations between Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. King Abdulaziz Al Saud had planted the seed of the historical relations which were upheld by the successive kings of Saudi Arabia including the current Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

The retired military officer probably has become blind to the reality and facts because of the turban he is wearing, which definitely has a price. He has fallen for the fancies of Muslim Brotherhood Group by imagining scenarios about the future of Egypt to the extent that he alleged that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques will not be sad to see el-Sisi leave his position exactly the same way Gaddafi was sacked in Libya. If a king does not want the president of a country to retain his position, why would he visit that president twice in one year?

Firstly, it is necessary to determine whether what that journalist wrote in this regard is part of a planned campaign launched by international intelligence agencies based on its keenness to destroy Egypt.

This ongoing planned campaign was launched in 2011 and has become stronger particularly after the Muslim Brotherhood Group was ousted through the June 30 Revolution in 2013. This spoiled the plots that were planned first against Egypt followed by the GCC countries.

However, we must affirm that the relations between the GCC countries and Egypt are not just based on emotions and aid but also on national interests owing to Egypt’s role in protecting this region from the dangers of Muslim Brotherhood Group and all organizations and groups born from its womb.

Therefore, the fluctuations in oil prices did not impact the economic support provided to Egypt because it is a country known for its firm stances and potential in all investment fields. It is capable of becoming an economic tiger like the Asian tigers. Therefore, it is within the interests of the GCC organization to seek an Arab economic depth epitomized exactly in Egypt.

Like many other columnists who are eager to see Arab countries fail, Hirst has seemingly forgotten that Egypt, which is temporarily suffering from an unprecedented situation that resulted from several incidents since 2011, has been busy working on major projects, controlling terrorist groups, taking part in the Arab alliance to deter the Persian plot in Yemen and participating in the military mission ‘Raad Al-Shamal’ (Thunder of the North). All these are indications of power and not weakness.

It cannot be considered as failure if some countries experience economic crises and later recover and improve their situations. Argentina, Brazil, Greece, South Korea, Japan and Germany had faced such a situation. Even the United States of America suffered from bankruptcy due to wars and some other problems. However, it successfully managed to recover and become an important international player economically. So, what about a country like Egypt, which is not even close to becoming bankrupt and is not affected by famine, recession or poverty despite its current situation?

David Hirst and all other columnists like him must take off the turban of Hassan el-Banna and stop trading in the “Poverty of Egypt” as described by them. They have to admit Egypt’s fortune and ascertain that Egypt — the Gift of the Nile — never starves. When referring to the ‘poverty of a country’, it implies that a huge famine has fallen upon that country which has affected a high percentage of the nation such as the current situation in North Korea and Iran.